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Finally finished the novel Drood by Dan Simmons. It is a historical fiction of the relationship between Victorian novelists Wilkie Collins (the narrator) and Charles Dickens, who was in a train wreck and according to the story meets this mysterious being named Drood who is attending victims of the train wreck. Dickens then seems to be living in an alternative reality where Drood is an Egyptian priest who follows an ancient religion and is talented in mesmerizing others. By the end of the novel, the reader is unsure about the authenticity of Dickens's or Collins's accounts about this mysterious character or life in general.

There were many parts of the novel that encouraged me to seek out additional information:
* The Great Stink of London. There was summer in the mid-1800s where the smell emanating from the sewage and graveyards of London was so horrendous that finally a bill was passed in Parliament to invest in an improved public sanitation system. See the article London's 'Great Stink' and Victorian Urban Planning by Professor Martin Daunton.
* Wilkie Collins. Although the narrator of the novel, Wilkie Collins doesn't merit a whole lot of respect from the reader. He is painted as an inferior author compared to his friend Charles Dickens (although he certainly had a handful of popular works in his time); a major opium addict, which in the end shades his sense of reality (he begins seeing a doppelganger: "The Other Wilkie, which he claims he has seen his entire life but really probably only started hallucinating when his opium addiction spiraled out of control); and a murderer (although this isn't historically correct; in fact in the end, I'm not sure he really murdered his servants' daughter).
* Charles Dickens. The only Dickens I have been able to finish is A Christmas Carol, which I didn't think was wonderful. Maybe I should try something else, like the Pickwick Papers which his readers seemed to love. Dickens also was a lout (what man at that time wasn't?). He left his wife (who lost her attractiveness after bearing him 10 children) for a younger actress. Actually, he forced his wife out and forbade his children from seeing her, although according to an A&E Biography featuring Dickens, the children resumed their relationship with their mother after his death. Still, Dickens is shown to be a genius writer so I feel a need to explore his works and compare him to who I consider to be the all time genius writer, William Shakespeare.
* Opium. The Romantic and Victorians writers seemed to all be hooked on opium. Mostly I wanted to know what an opium dream was like without having to experience it firsthand. Historical information about opium usage can found at the Opium Museum. Not sure how accurate the following article is but the experience of the columnist appears to be like the experience of Collins in Drood: Confessions of an eBay opium addict by Peter Thompson.

Drood was very well-written (but it is very long mind you). Plus, any book that encourages its readers to research further information merits a starred review in my mind.

Not Just a Comic Book

Until recently I couldn't understand the graphic novel/comic book craze. Sure, as a child my family had old Archie, Katy Keene, and, of course, Conan comic books. I read what we owned multiple times but I never sought to increase my personal comic collection, which consisted of maybe two comics, preferring the traditional block text book to panels and bubble-speak.

Since their increase in popularity, I have yet to delve into this genre. I read a manga once. The extent of my graphic novel experience, at least until the past week.

Never had I thought there could be so much substance to a graphic novel. But that's because as a librarian I've been lectured about the history of graphic novels but never told how they could be so exciting!

Nobody ever recommended WATCHMEN by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons.

The super cool trailer for the movie version of WATCHMEN encouraged me to seek out the graphic novel, which passed in and out of my book drop without so much as a second glance. I decided to read the graphic novel to prepare for the film (which I hope isn't R-rated) and cannot stop thinking about it.



The last book I read that really got me thinking was Year of Wonder by Geraldine Brooks. Days after reading this, and even now, I'll zone out and think about the themes, plot, and characters in this gripping portrayal of a medieval village hit by plague.

WATCHMEN has had the same effect and I feel that in order to really understand this book, I'll have read it at least 10 times. Ideas for college essay papers keep flowing into my brain the further into the book I get.

For instance, superheroes are not perfect! The majority of superheroes in WATCHMEN have skeletons in their closets. They are prone to vice, vigilantism, and narcissism. Often the reader is left wondering who the real villains are. Similarly, real-life superheroes--figures in history that we tend to put on pedestals and make into legends--are also flawed. Historical revisionism is highly controversial. Do we really need to know that Thomas Jefferson had an affair with one of his slaves, fathering many of her children? Should we teach our children to admire and idolize the office of the President when he(although we have moved an inch in the direction of the possibility of having a she) can make awful decisions and lead a nation to its downfall?

Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. are some figures that I idolize. However, as I learn more about their lives I have to stop and ask myself: Do their imperfections define them? Does it matter that one cheated on his wife; the other slept naked with young women to "strenghen" his devotion to brahmacharya; or that they may have performed any other morally questionable acts? Does the principle of the matter--the fact that they had the courage to stand for justice and unity and then seek to right some major injustices in their societies--compensate for imperfection?

When we teach our kids to idolize figures in history--whether past or present--are we doing a disservice to them, creating an image of unattainable perfection? Or do we make it a necessary lesson in forgiving people for their weaknesses, thanking them for their positive and life changing contributions to the world, and then allowing them to move on and progress in life?

Each member of the WATCHMEN organization has his/her own personal moral code and sense of justice(really don't we all?), which often falls outside the boundaries of the law of the land. For some, putting on a mask makes it okay to beat the crap out of the bad guy. How about killing a child murderer/rapist? Were they more effective in keeping the streets safe because they were left to their own devices to protect the people and not restrained by the Constitution? [Of course, in the story an act was passed forcing the WATCHMEN into retirement (at least the ones who would obey) because of their methods.]

Sometimes we see our real-life heroes in the police force (and other heroes) who are charged with the responsibility to protect and serve the people making mistakes. Sometimes they lose control and beat their "bad guys" senseless, let racism cloud their vision, pull the trigger a little too easily, or accused with sexual misconduct while on duty.

So much to philosophize over and just a couple of themes in the book! I recommend checking out the book and reading at least a few chapters. It can be a little graphic at times (hence the genre name graphic novel) but it's really nothing more than what we see in the world around us.

Fantastic Fairy Tale Rewrites

The great thing about fairy tales is that we read many variations of them and regardless what little details are altered or how the endings change, they draw us in, cause us to use our imaginations, and fill us with a bit o' nostalgia (unless you lived a very sheltered life!).

We now have graphic novels and novelizations that seek to explain misunderstood characters, to give voice to characters, or seek to finish the stories (perhaps make them more complete). Not all are great but here are some my personal favories.

Jessica Day George is a new find. She did a rewrite of "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" called Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, where she gives the heroine a name and a voice. (George is also a funny, entertaining gal; is a good selection for an author visit for upper elementary and high school and public libraries.)

I really like Shannon Hale's books: The Goose Girl, Enna Burning, and River Secrets. She has a graphic novelization of "Rapunzel" called Rapunzel's Revenge out.

Gail Carson Levine writes stories that have elements of our favorite fairy tales. Ella Enchanted is similar to "Sleeping Beauty." When an infant, Ella is given a gift from a fairy: the gift of obedience. She has wicked stepsisters and fairy godmothers. This title is also a Newbery Honor book.

Beauty is very popular (by Robin McKinley), however, I didn't find it compelling. I have heard a couple of variations of "Beauty and the Beast" and this retelling didn't offer any new ideas. However, it is very popular and McKinley is a good writer (think Newbery good!). She has another retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" called Rose Daughter, which I have not attempted. Reviews say that Rose Daughter has some different elements of the fairy tale and her initial retelling, so a worthwhile read, I'm sure.

Juliet Marillier writes a lot of traditional fantasy as well as Wildwood Dancing, a combination of the "The Frog Prince" and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses."